Balloon



y 1, 1957 J. A. JACKSON ET AL I 2,792,669

BALLOON Filed Oct. 15, 1956 Fig. 4

INVENTORS Fig.5 JAMES A. JAG/(501V Y WALTER L. JACKSON tsd W8 P r at the option of the user of the"t"oy," an"d without any special eqqipment,whatevenpther thana simple valved mouthpiece" inc rperatejdin lie neckfqfthe balloon.

Another object'ofthis iriv'ention is -t'oprovide a balloon which has.a.utility extending beyondthe range. of utility of an eraniar Batman; in" that" the'..'prs'ent balloonl has a valved m'fou hpiece whicnbyvnwe. fits weight causes thegballoo'nf o assumea'position" wh ein the valveflement ofithejmouthpi'ece' is'likely to lengage the ground, floor oij otheifT fixe'd structure when the, bailloonde'scrids, resultinglinf thepartialor Complete deflation of the balloon. feature permitsthe 'balloonfto b"used "in ames wherein" the time element required'to r nflate the balloon is a penalty in the game. Of course, it is conceived that many uses may be ascribed to this structure, other than the particular game function mentioned immediately above.

Another object of this invention is to provide a balloon with a valved mouthpiece which is entirely satisfactory in use and yet so economical to manufacture and install in the balloon that the valve structure can also be considered as expandable as the balloon itself. Alternatively, the valved mouthpiece may be removed from a balloon and replaced in another when this is desired, the same economical manufacturing feature being still important when the mouthpiece is so used.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a valved mouthpiece which can be sold separately from balloons as such, the mounting of the valved mouthpiece in the neck of a balloon being simply accomplished by a child.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a valved mouthpiece which has a special and unique cooperation with the beaded terminal portion of the neck of a balloon, by reason of the critical shaping of the exterior surface of the mouthpiece. In this connection it should be carefully noted that the mouthpiece is so formed that it is unlikely to become detached from a balloon when being used by a small child. It follows that the mouthpiece is not likely to be inadvertently swallowed by such a small child. Further, in this connection, the valved mouthpiece is formed in such a manner that, if inadvertently swallowed by a young child, it will probably cause little or no harm to the child.

With these objects definitely in view, together with other objects which will appear hereinafter as this description proceeds, this invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of elements and portions, as will be hereinafter fully described in the specification, particplarly pointed out in the appended aaali aaf iefta q ans vide'a balloon which can be easillytinfla edan ,defiated "Similar" characters ,off.:refjer identical elements 'a'n'd pfdftioii thro.

claims, and illustrated in the drawingnwhich forms a material part of this disclosure, andin which: 7 j

, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a balloon with the valved mouthpiece inserted thereimthe balloonbeing representedas inflated or partially inflated; Figure 2 is a view of the body member of the valved mouthpiece, the upper portion of the figure being in elevation and" the lower portion of the: figure being a vertical crosssectional representation ofthis part of the balloon; L Eigure 3, is a similar; view 9f what will be referred to this invention;

. re as t val es ar t fl frs ths et P r ns 9 Figure b a S m ars t. 5f he aaflishihi Fi a o i t awn n rves a b d at!!! flrt s U [10 I Figure 5. is an 'ele'vationalvi being aes igneataiiiiu nateh v nes for the.automat1c eflatiq semifina s downwardly'intojc til .1 'fixed sprees. si gnalf sii jiilai" $51 hout the specifics than and t roughout theflditf r nt vrew's in the drawin eferring, nowi'tothe drama in detail, the balloon may is'findicated' at, 1 0 and the neck p0rt io1i'12 there rupture'thereof and to insure bettefr engagement with the a mo thp e e, he e n fte ,del r b fi t hl b n 1:

de'rstood that balloons a e; conventionally provided with such a 'bead'14; although the instanfinvention envisages a special coaction of this bead and the neck carrying the same with the instant mouthpiece.

The mouthpiece comprises a body member 16 of generally tapered form, the smaller end face 18 being disposed toward the outer end of the neck 12 and the larger end face 20 being disposed near the inner end of the neck 12. The body member, as shown, as an arcuate outer surface 22, or may be thought of as having a compound curvature rather than a simple tapered configuration. This longitudinal curvature assures an increased area of contact of the surface 22 with the inner surface of the neck 12, since neck 12 tends to extend or enlarge gradually into the body portion of the balloon 10. A groove or cannelure 24 is provided in an intermediate portion of the outer surface 22 and the bead 14 is re ceived in this cannelure 24. It has been found that this simple expedient is quite efficient in preventing the neck from being removed from the mouthpiece. The cannelure is of such a depth that the adjacent portions of the neck 12 lie in contact with the adjacent portions of the mouthpiece, the natural resiliency of the neck 12 and head 14 being depended upon to maintain this close contact.

The body member 16 is provided with a bore 26 which may be of uniform diameter throughout its length from the end 18 of the body portion to a point adjacent the opposite end of the body member, where the bore is enlarged to define a valve seat 28, a flared portion 30 extending from the outer edge of the valve seat 28 to the larger face 20.

The valve per se comprises a stem 32 approximately that of the body member 16. An enlarged head 34 is provided at what may be thought of as the inner end of the stem 32 and a valve face 36 on one side of this enlarged head 34 engages the valve seat 28 when the valve is in closed position. A lip 38 is provided at the opposite end of the valve stem 32 and defines a shoulder 40 extending transversely and outwardly from the stem 32 Patented May 21, 1957 to function as a stop preventing the inadvertent withdrawal of the valve from the body member 16. In fabricating this device, it is proposed that the body member 16 be constructed of relatively infiexibleand harder plastic material than the valve, so that the lip 38 may be compressed sufliciently to allow passage of the same through the bore 26, in assembly of the valve into the valve body. The stem 32 is provided with an axial bore or channel 42 extending through the lip 33 and throughout the length of the stem to a point adjacent the enlarged head 34, and transverse apertures 44 are provided in the wall of the stem 32 immediately adjacent to the enlarged head 34.

The operation of this invention will be clearly understood from a consideration of the foregoing description of the mechanical details thereof, taken in connection with the drawing and the above recited objects. In recapitulation, it may be mentioned that the instant invention is susceptible for use where inflation is accomplished by connection of the mouthpiece with a source of pressurized gas such as helium, although the ordinary and familiar mode of inflation by lung power is also provided for, the lips being inserted over the mouthpiece and the valve being forced inwardly to allow air to move through the bore 42 and the transverse apertures 44 into the balloon body. Upon a reduction of pressure exerted exteriorly of the valve assembly or mouthpiece, the enlarged head 34 is pressed outwardly so that the valve stem 32 slides within the bore 26 until the valve face 36 seats in fluid tight relation on the valve seat 28. The balloon then remains in inflated condition for a very considerable time unless and until the valve is again pressed inwardly. As explained above, deflation will occur, in toto or in part, when the balloon is allowed to float downwardly since the valve will be opened when the outer end thereof, at the lip 38, is engaged by any object such as the floor or ground, thus introducingv a penalty or play hazard useful in making certain balloon games interesting to the players.

Minor variation from the embodiment disclosed herein may be resorted to without departure from the spirit and scope of this invention, the present specification and drawing being proposed as merely illustrative rather than limit- 1ng.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: p p I v A balloon comprising a balloon body having a neck with a terminal bead thereon; a mouthpiece in said neck and having a cannelureto receive said bead; said mouthpiece having an axial bore; s'vawe axially slidably mounted in said bore and having an enlargement at each end thereof; one of said enlargements and said mouthpiece having valve faces in sealing relationshipin one position of the valve;'said valve having a channel leading from the outer end thereof to the interior of said balloon body in another position of the'valve; said valve being constructed of somewhat deformable and resilient material to enable one of said enlargements to be forced through said bore in the mouthpiece during assembly of the valve in the mouthpiece.

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 464,276 Delane Dec. 1, 1891 559,651 Willard" May 5, 1896 662,335 Bailey Nov. 20, 1900 1,859,126 Boeuf May 17, 1932 2,617,624 Annis Nov; 11, 1952 2,651,879 Longino Sept. 15, 1953 2,663,968 Lon'gin'o -Dec. 29, 1953 2,674,064 Gassaway 'Apr. 6, 1954 

